Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech: Dr. Lisa Sellers of Vector Laboratories On The 5 Leadership Lessons She Learned From Her Experience
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Embrace differences and seek them out in your team. Homogeneity doesn’t make a team cohesive and letting everyone’s individual strengths and styles shine can make your team more capable and adaptable.
As a part of our series about “Lessons From Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Lisa V. Sellers.
Lisa V. Sellers, PhD, is an accomplished leader and mentor in life sciences with more than 20 years of experience in the industry. As CEO of Vector Laboratories, a top innovator in immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and glycobiology products used for scientific discovery, Sellers drives the company’s expansion and business strategies. She has a stellar track record of spearheading successful business strategies based on unmet market opportunities, while prioritizing the development of a people-first work environment. This winning combination has created unstoppable forward momentum at Vector Laboratories.
Before joining Vector Laboratories, Sellers provided consulting services for numerous life science companies to guide them in accelerating product development and commercialization to enter new markets. Sellers has served in executive and senior management roles in marketing, sales, and specific product lines for companies such as Thermo Fisher Scientific, 10x Genomics, Life Technologies, and Argonaut Technologies, among others.
While Sellers has earned notable success as a top life science industry expert, she has always believed in the importance of giving back.
Sellers serves as an Advisory Board Member with the LEAD Scholars Program at Santa Clara University, a board member with Notre Dame Belmont, and an Advisory Board Member, Master of Biotechnology at San Jose State University. She has a personal passion for coaching professionals to navigate job choices in STEM to achieve their potential and to provide the utmost in career fulfillment. As such, Sellers has been a speaker at ISPE, Navigating Your Career Amidst Uncertainty in Dec 2020; Women in Product, SF Bay Area, for Go-to-Market Series in May 2019; and was featured in CMO.com, Best Leadership Advice I Ever Received publication in Feb 2019. Sellers was also named A Women of Influence in 2022 by the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
Sellers earned a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Colorado Boulder and a BS in Chemistry, ACS Certified from Santa Clara University.
Thank you so much for speaking with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
From the time I was in high school, science and math felt like the first things that really “clicked” for me and gave me a sense of belonging and confidence. At the same time, I was always fascinated by the structure and operations of a business. I started working at a small computer business as a teen and was fueled by interacting with the different functional managers, seeing how logistics fit together, and watching teams of employees with different attributes work as a unit. After studying chemistry in college and graduate school, I got a job in R&D for a chemical company. I didn’t have any formal business training, but I started engaging with a colleague working on business cases. She walked me through the structure of a case and I dug in to try to use this format for my own research area, learning everything I could, doing my own market research, and going along on sales calls. This culminated in a business plan presentation to our department leadership. I was so excited by that experience that I came back to work the following Monday and decided I was leaving to pursue a role in business.
Are you currently satisfied with the status quo regarding women in STEM? What specific changes do you think are needed to change the status quo?
I’m not satisfied, but there is so much more representation and inclusion across the STEM landscape now than even one or two decades ago. More women are pursuing science in college and graduate school, but they’re still less likely to earn tenured professorships or leadership positions. Less than a quarter of current biotech CEOs identify as women. Hiring is definitely an issue– leaders tend to hire through their network, and if men are at the top, they’re more likely to bring other men up that leadership chain. I think networking styles are also somewhat gender-specific, as we tend to assume people will recognize our good work whereas men will spend both work and free time putting themselves out there. Relationships add up. Women could take more time to advocate for themselves and take time to build and use that network. It’s not selfish; making connections and getting advice will serve your current role and open up future opportunities.
In your opinion, what are some of the biggest challenges faced by women in STEM that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts? What would you suggest to address this?
Especially for jobs in STEM that are very technical or at a high level, I think women can more often be held back by self-imposed limitations. There’s a societal tendency towards expecting perfection in women, and girls grow up with those challenges in self-perception. Women are more likely to discount themselves if they don’t fit every piece of a job description or have a different background from someone currently in that position, while many men will just give it a shot. We set different bars for ourselves while giving others the benefit of the doubt. I’ve become conscious of this and coached other women in not placing such a large burden of proof on themselves to be validated in a skill or a role when they’re actually very capable.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a woman in STEM . Can you explain what you mean?
While this isn’t exclusive to women in the field, I think people can be quick to judge scientists with interests and endeavors outside of STEM as less committed or less serious about science. There’s definitely more visibility and appreciation for this now, but women are still sometimes put into that box if they choose to start a family, for example. For girls in school, there’s a misconception that being passionate about art or writing or dance is at odds with excelling in math or science, when creativity is essential to that kind of problem-solving. I loved engaging with art as a kid, but that often had to come second to taking the rigorous science and math courses. That’s why STEAM is so important– it helps young people see that having a breadth of interests and a flexible thinking style is a strength, not a weakness.
What advice would you give to other women leaders to help their team to thrive?
Women tend to be socially and emotionally intelligent, but being in touch with your emotions is often seen as a weakness when it’s actually a great strength. It’s possible to be analytical and empathetic. I’d advise other women leaders to remember to bring their humanity through the door and encourage their teams to do the same. I once had an employee who was having a tough time and cried in the office, and they were terribly embarrassed, but I emphasized that being vulnerable and having human feelings didn’t make them any less of an employee. It’s a problematic idea to have to be a different person at work vs. at home. Fostering an environment where people can be themselves and give themselves grace through challenging times is very powerful.
What advice would you give to other women leaders about the best way to manage a large team?
- Embrace differences and seek them out in your team. Homogeneity doesn’t make a team cohesive and letting everyone’s individual strengths and styles shine can make your team more capable and adaptable.
- As a leader, it’s easy to just take on a task or fix an issue yourself, but far more satisfying for yourself and your team if you create a space for team members to be challenged and stretched. Support your team members with direction, resources, and support along the way and, more often than not, these team members will surprise you and themselves with what they can accomplish. It takes more work, but the outcome is better in the long run.
- Build a culture of trust with your employees. They’re all adults and you’ve hired them because they’re capable. Trust them to do what needs to be done and offer flexibility when needed. When employees are given clear direction with clear expectations and resources, where communication is dynamic to course correct when needed, they will deliver. The more you acknowledge, appreciate, and leverage their strengths, the more your employees will delight you in what they can accomplish.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
My undergraduate research mentor, Dr. Amy Shachter at Santa Clara University, was instrumental in shaping my path as a scientist and a leader. Even though I wasn’t a straight A student, she recognized my drive for chemistry and took me on as a research student. Her leadership was subtle but powerful– she let me propose what experiments to do next and allowed me to make mistakes without fear. She gave guidance without direction, which I’ve put to use in my own leadership roles. Dr. Shachter created a safe environment to test my hypotheses and pivot when things didn’t go as planned and having that space fostered confidence and self-sufficiency. Her mentorship was definitely a model for my own approaches to creative decision making and coaching others.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
There are many for different areas of my life! For work, one of the more recent ones that is circulating in my leadership team is by Brene Brown: “Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.” I’m a direct person by nature and my motivation for giving direct feedback and encouraging others to do so is best captured in that quote. When managers can wrap their head around this idea then most are able to overcome barriers that have prevented them from being direct. It’s amazing how much more efficient things become when you operate this way. People and projects move in a forward direction faster and with less churning within a team or within a project.
For home and work: “Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier,” by Colin Powell. When life can throw so many unexpected turns or wrenches at you along the path of life, this one is a way of living that has gotten me through some challenging times. I’m still amazed at how the power of positive thinking can improve both your physical and mental health.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Oprah Winfrey. She lives by the Colin Powell quote I mentioned above, both through her nonprofit work but more recently through her social media reach. Her Oprah Daily posts are an amazing reminder that through the worst of times, the practice of gratitude is most impactful for persevering− focus on everything you have as opposed to what you don’t. This is how I try to live my life and how I teach my kids to view life and the world around them.
Thank you so much for your insightful answers!
Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech: Dr Lisa Sellers of Vector Laboratories On The 5 Leadership Le was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.